Jacob Parenti had been coughing up mucus and blood for days before his January death in the Monterey County Jail, family members say.

Now, Parenti's Carmel Valley family is asking for no less than $250,000 for Susan Parenti, his mother, and Parenti's underage son.

According to a claim filed earlier this month by Parenti's family, the 33-year-old man was in custody on Jan. 9 or 10 when he first exhibited cold- or flu-like symptoms.

He then put in the first of ultimately two sick call request slips.

Parenti, who was incarcerated in August, was diagnosed in November or December with skin cancer, according to Amy Parenti, his sister. In the first two weeks of January, he had cancerous cells removed from his face, according to the claim.

When he began coughing up blood Jan. 12, Parenti put in a second sick call request slip.

"He continued to cough up blood that was thick and mucus-like," according to the claim. "Mr. Parenti was not called for sick call on Jan. 13 or Jan. 14, and he continued to exhibit symptoms."

About 9:45 a.m. Jan. 15, a D-wing deputy called several inmates, including Parenti, to see the nurse. Parenti remained motionless despite his name being called multiple times, according to the claim.

Parenti did not respond when the deputy tapped him, according to the claim. The deputy then left the cell without alerting medical staff to attend to Parenti.

Neither the deputy nor jail staff followed up with Parenti, according to the claim.

An hour later, inmates in Parenti's unit discovered him not breathing. Several inmates pulled him from his bunk, while others called "man down" and attempted to perform CPR.

Despite efforts from deputies, paramedics and fire personnel, Parenti could not be resuscitated. He was pronounced dead at 11:05 a.m.

Family members allege, according to the claim, the Monterey County Sheriff's Office, the deputy and other jail staff, and California Forensic Medical Group — which contracts to provide medical services at the jail — were at fault in Parenti's death.

"They failed to adequately address Mr. Parenti's medical needs up to and including this incident, and they failed to appropriately summon emergency medical care when Mr. Parenti was non-responsive," according to the claim.

Parenti's death isn't the only in which Monterey County jail staff have been alleged culpable.

Less than four months after Parenti's death, 20-year-old Joshua Claypole, of Big Sur, hanged himself in his cell. At the time, Claypole was being held on $1.1 million bail for the stabbing death of Daniel Garcia Huerta.

Silvia Guersenzvaig, his mother, filed suit in June seeking unspecified damages and a jury trial. The complaint alleges a multitude of defendants, Monterey County law enforcement included, failed to recognize Claypole's suicidal tendencies and didn't properly note his extensive psychiatric history.

Because they are dead, neither Parenti nor Claypole will be included as plaintiffs in a wide-sweeping federal lawsuit the Monterey County Public Defender's Office filed last year against the Monterey County Sheriff's Office.

The lawsuit was filed May 23, 2013, and names Jesse Hernandez, Robert Yancey, Richard Murphy, Sarab Sarabi and Glenda Hunter as the initial plaintiffs. In a 72-page document, they allege Monterey County, the Sheriff's Office and CFMG failed to protect inmates from violence, failed to provide adequate medical and mental health care, and failed to accommodate inmates with disabilities.

Many of those concerns, Sheriff Scott Miller has said, will be ameliorated when the Monterey County Jail receives a makeover to the tune of $89 million.

Miller wasn't immediately available Thursday for comment. Susan Blitch, of the Monterey County Counsel's Office, declined to comment.